The present invention is in the field of telecommunication encompassing all existing sorts of interaction multimedia technology, and pertains more particularly to methods and apparatus for managing defined business processes within a multimedia communication-center operating a customer-interaction-network-operating-system (CINOS).
In the field of telephony communication, there have been many improvements in technology over the years that have contributed to more efficient use of telephone communication within hosted call-center environments. Most of these improvements involve integrating the telephones and switching systems in such call centers with computer hardware and software adapted for, among other things, better routing of telephone calls, faster delivery of telephone calls and associated information, and improved service with regard to client satisfaction. Such computer-enhanced telephony is known in the art as computer-telephony integration (CTI).
Generally speaking, CTI implementations of various design and purpose are implemented both within individual call-centers and, in some cases, at the telephone network level. For example, processors running CTI software applications may be linked to telephone switches, service control points (SCPs), and network entry points within a public or private telephone network. At the call-center level, CTI-enhanced processors, data servers, transaction servers, and the like, are linked to telephone switches and, in some cases, to similar CTI hardware at the network level, often by a dedicated digital link. CTI processors and other hardware within a call-center is commonly referred to as customer premises equipment (CPE). It is the CTI processor and application software is such centers that provides computer enhancement to a call center.
In a CTI-enhanced call center, telephones at agent stations are connected to a central telephony switching apparatus, such as an automatic call distributor (ACD) switch or a private branch exchange (PBX). The agent stations may also be equipped with computer terminals such as personal computer/video display unit""s (PC/VDU""s) so that agents manning such stations may have access to stored data as well as being linked to incoming callers by telephone equipment. Such stations may be interconnected through the PC/VDUs by a local area network (LAN). One or more data or transaction servers may also be connected to the LAN that interconnects agent stations. The LAN is, in turn, typically connected to the CTI processor, which is connected to the call switching apparatus of the call center.
When a call arrives at a call center, whether or not the call has been pre-processed at an SCP, typically at least the telephone number of the calling line is made available to the receiving switch at the call center by the network provider. This service is available by most networks as caller-ID information in one of several formats such as Automatic Number Identification (ANI). Typically the number called is also available through a service such as Dialed Number Identification Service (DNIS). If the call center is computer-enhanced (CTI), the phone number of the calling patty may be used as a key to access additional information from a customer information system (CIS) database at a server on the network that connects the agent workstations. In this manner information pertinent to a call may be provided to an agent, often as a screen pop on the agent""s PC/VDU.
In recent years, advances in computer technology, telephony equipment, and infrastructure have provided many opportunities for improving telephone service in publicly-switched and private telephone intelligent networks. Similarly, development of a separate information and data network known as the Internet, together with advances in computer hardware and software have led to a new multimedia telephone system known in the art by several names. In this new systemology, telephone calls are simulated by multimedia computer equipment, and data, such as audio data, is transmitted over data networks as data packets. In this system the broad term used to describe such computer-simulated telephony is Data Network Telephony (DNT).
For purposes of nomenclature and definition, the inventors wish to distinguish clearly between what might be called conventional telephony, which is the telephone service enjoyed by nearly all citizens through local telephone companies and several long-distance telephone network providers, and what has been described herein as computer-simulated telephony or data-network telephony. The conventional systems are referred to herein as Connection-Oriented Switched-Telephony (COST) systems, CTI enhanced or not.
The computer-simulated, or DNT systems are familiar to those who use and understand computers and data-network systems. Perhaps the best example of DNT is telephone service provided over the Internet, which will be referred to herein as Internet Protocol Network Telephony (IPNT), by far the most extensive, but still a subset of DNT.
Both systems use signals transmitted over network links. In fact, connection to data networks for DNT such as IPNT is typically accomplished over local telephone lines, used to reach points in the network such as an Internet Service Provider (ISP). The definitive difference is that COST telephony may be considered to be connection-oriented telephony. In the COST system, calls are placed and connected by a specific dedicated path, and the connection path is maintained over the time of the call. Bandwidth is basically assured. Other calls and data do not share a connected channel path in a COST system. A DNT system, on the other hand, is not dedicated or connection-oriented. That is, data, including audio data, is prepared, sent, and received as data packets over a data-network. The data packets share network links, and may travel by varied and variable paths.
Recent improvements to available technologies associated with the transmission and reception of data packets during real-time DNT communication have enabled companies to successfully add DNT, principally IPNT, capabilities to existing CTI call centers. Such improvements, as described herein and known to the inventor, include methods for guaranteeing available bandwidth or quality of service (QoS) for a transaction, improved mechanisms for organizing, coding, compressing, and carrying data more efficiently using less bandwidth, and methods and apparatus for intelligently replacing lost data via using voice supplementation methods and enhanced buffering capabilities.
In addition to Internet protocol (IPNT) calls, a DNT center may also share other forms of media with customers accessing the system through their computers. E-mails, Video mails, fax, file share, file transfer, video calls, and so forth are some of the other forms of media which may be used. This capability of handling varied media leads to the term multimedia communications center. A multimedia communications center may be a combination CTI and DNT center, or may be a DNT center capable of receiving COST calls and converting them to a digital DNT format. The term communication center will replace the term call center hereinafter in this specification when referring to multimedia capabilities.
In typical communication centers, DNT is accomplished by Internet connection and IPNT calls. For this reason, IPNT and the Internet will be used in examples to follow. IT should be understood, however, that this usage is exemplary, and not limiting.
In systems known to the inventors, incoming IPNT calls are processed and routed within an IPNT-capable communication center in much the same way as COST calls are routed in a CTI-enhanced call-center, using similar or identical routing rules, waiting queues, and so on, aside from the fact that there are two separate networks involved. Communication centers having both CTI and IPNT capability utilize LAN-connected agent-stations with each station having a telephony-switch-connected headset or phone, and a PC connected, in most cases via LAN, to the network carrying the IPNT calls. Therefore, in most cases, IPNT calls are routed to the agent""s PC while conventional telephony calls are routed to the agent""s conventional telephone or headset. Typically separate lines and equipment must be implemented for each type of call weather COST or IPNT.
Due in part to added costs associated with additional equipment, lines, and data ports that are needed to add IPNT capability to a CTI-enhanced call-center, companies are currently experimenting with various forms of integration between the older COST system and the newer IPNT system. For example, by enhancing data servers, interactive voice response units (IVR""s), agent-connecting networks, and so on, with the capability of conforming to Internet protocol, call data arriving from either network may be integrated requiring less equipment and lines to facilitate processing, storage, and transfer of data.
With many new communication products supporting various media types available to businesses and customers, a communication center must add significant application software to accommodate the diversity. For example, e-mail programs have differing parameters than do IP applications. IP applications are different regarding protocol than COST calls, and so on. Separate routing systems and/or software components are needed for routing e-mails, IP calls, COST calls, file sharing, etc. Agents must then be trained in the use of a variety of applications supporting the different types of media.
Keeping contact histories, reporting statistics, creating routing rules and the like becomes more complex as newer types of media are added to communication center capability. Additional hardware implementations such as servers, processors, etc. are generally required to aid full multimedia communication and reporting. Therefore, it is desirable that interactions of all multimedia sorts be analyzed, recorded, and routed according to enterprise (business) rules in a manner that provides seamless integration between media types and application types, thereby allowing agents to respond intelligently and efficiently to customer queries and problems.
Still another goal of multimedia communication centers is to maintain a certain flexibility with regard to defined business processes that may be used or in effect within the communication center. For example, enterprise procedure must be executed in a timely fashion and in logical order especially where live interactions hang in the balance. A client who patronizes a multimedia communication center does not wish to be inconvenienced by a long wait while a business procedure relating to his call is being executed within the system.
Business procedures, as described above, include and encompass any ordered processes that may be required before a conclusion may be reached regarding an issue or request. An example of a standard business procedure may be a process for qualifying a client for a loan. A business procedure as such may be broken down into ordered steps and sub-steps. For example, an automated business application designed to qualify or not a requesting client may begin with the step of client identification and data acquisition. Sub-steps involved in client data acquisition may include 1) obtaining last credit report, 2) obtaining past credit history with the enterprise, 3) obtaining current income and asset information, and so on.
An issue with which to contend regarding current art communication centers is the fact that human intervention is required when performing more complicated business processes such as the one described above. For example, an operator or agent may be required to manually type in access to certain databases via keyboard. Obtained information must be processed, in many instances, via manual calculation such as calculating income to debt ratio (in the case of a loan process) and so on. Because of such human involvement in one or more stages in a typical process, the propensity for error is high. Also, such interference consumes time both valuable to the enterprise and to the client. Beyond that, if someone xe2x80x9cdrops the ballxe2x80x9d, the transaction may not be closed in time, and it maybe difficult if not impossible to find in time at which manual step the issue was dropped.
What is clearly needed is an ability in a multimedia communication center for creating interactive process modules, interactive with other communication center processes, that can be called to quickly perform particular defined processes according to enterprise needs in a timely and orderly fashion wherein human intervention may be excluded or greatly reduced.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in an operating system (OS) for a multimedia communications center (MMCC), an interactive process module (IPM) for accomplishing a process is provided, comprising a plurality of code sets, each adapted to completion of a specific task in the overall process; an input interface for providing one or more inputs to the IPM; and an output function for returning a result. The plurality of code sets are related by pre-requisite status, creating a required order of progression for the process, the process is initiated after being called by the OS and receiving required inputs, the IPM is adapted to interface with other OS modules for accessing and providing data, and upon completion of the last task the IPM returns the result.
In a preferred embodiment task structure and parameters are presentable in a graphical interface displaying tasks making up the IPM in prerequisite order. The graphical interface may be a GANT chart. Preferably the graphical interface is interactive, allowing a programmer to add, delete, and edit steps in the process.
In some cases start and finish times are displayed for each task. Also in some cases, in performing any one task, next activity is variable, and is determined by performance to requirements programmed with the task. Task requirements may include completion within a preprogrammed allotted time. Next activity may include a choice of stopping the process and notifying a person in the event of non-completion of a task in an allotted time.
In some cases one or more tasks require human intervention and activity, and there may be a selective activity of reminding a person responsible for an activity of a pending time deadline.
In another aspect of the invention an operating system for a multimedia call center is provided, including IPMs of the type and structure described in general above. Further, a tool kit for a programmer provides an interactive object-oriented interface adapted for building IPMs of the sort described.
The invention in its various embodiments, taught in enabling detail below, provides a facility for adapting an operating system for a multimedia call center to specific business practices and rules for a host enterprise within a broad set of possibilities, wherein business procedures, such as logical and calculation intensive procedures, may be accomplished more or less automatically with little if any human intervention.